KT53

Latest posts by KT53

My wife thought she had lost a poppy brooch last week when we were away on holiday. We were packing up to come back home, it was a beautiful sunny morning. She pulled the curtains open and, out of the corner of her eye, saw something sparkle from under a low coffee table. It was the brooch. If it had been a bit less sunny, or she had stood in a slightly different position, it wouldn't have been found.

Sure they have what to us is a strange system with the electoral college, but over here a political party can get several million votes and end up with no seats in parliament. I don't think we are in any position to preach about democracy!

Even if Hillary had won she would have had the same problems Obama faced with both the Senate and Congress having more Republicans than Democrats, and voting down bills all the time.

Brexit was far from being a North versus South vote. This from the BBC News site "Seven of the 10 areas with the highest share of the vote for Remain were in London, including Lambeth, Hackney and Haringey, all of which polled over 75% to stay in the European Union."

It would be far more accurate to say it was London versus the rest of England and Wales. The breakdown by region shows that London was the only one with a majority in favour of remaining in the EU.

Although there are certain reasons in common for the two results, it's over simplistic to claim that both happened for the same reasons. Many who voted for Brexit did so because they are sick of unelected officials in Brussels dictating UK law. They wanted the UK to have full control over what happens in these islands.

On all discussion boards you will find those who wilfully misinterpret the words of others in order to be offended / shocked / disgusted. There are also those who deliberately post comments in the hope that a certain interpretation will be put on them, and will then feign innocence when precisely that interpretation is made.

There is always the risk of comments being accidentally taken the wrong way when all we have is the written word, without all the other elements of a face to face conversation.

I think the vote for Trump had much the same root as our vote for Brexit. People are sick of politicians who are seen as self serving, ignoring the interests of the general population and treating everybody as if they are incapable of making reasoned decisions.

Although Trump isn't a poltician in the usual sense of the word, all those around him most certainly are. Trump won't be free to do what he wants, when he wants. He's the visible face of the Republican party, but potentially little more than a mouthpiece. The political elite aren't going to allow him to screw things up for them for the future. Just look at all the claims and pledges made be previous leaders in the USA and UK, compare that with what actually happened and see if you can find any match!

The effect of Trump in the White House will potentially be the more dramatic of the two events, but there's nothing we can to except go along for the ride.